86 Ghosts

High Priest Reed sat in the carriage, his face full of self-reproach, and said to Priest Theodore, "Half a month ago, when the Elf Ranger of the Guard Squad delivered four Bronze Mirror to the temple, I knew there would be trouble."

"Those Bronze Mirror must have belonged to a necromancer, mainly used to imprison the souls of the dead. Each mirror has a gate to Dimensional Space. Fortunately, the necromancer placed seals on these mirrors. I checked these seals and confirmed that the souls trapped in the mirrors could not escape, so I decided to temporarily store these Bronze Mirror in the warehouse."

"After all, these are extraordinary times, and purifying these souls requires a lot of Holy Light Power. I think I should postpone it a little longer."

"In order to suppress the spirits in the mirror, I also lit a candle with holy light in the warehouse to weaken their power."

"I know he goes to the warehouse occasionally, but I haven't interfered with him. I think that as long as I give him some time, he can get out of his mental rut. In fact, the fact that we haven't received any news from the High Priest for so long is just a matter of us waiting in silence."

"I never expected Anderson to seek out those ghosts... Otherwise, given his personality, he would never have done something so impulsive."

The stone-paved road wasn't actually that smooth, and the carriage was a bit bumpy as it traveled along the Cliffside Avenue.

Priest Theodore had recently gained some weight, and as he sat in the bumpy carriage, he felt his entire body trembling...

He only learned of Priest Anderson's death last night, and probably didn't sleep well, as he now appears somewhat listless.

"I knew it... Why was Priest Anderson so impulsive this time? He was probably bewitched by the spirits of the dead!"

Priest Theodore leaned back on the sofa, slammed his hand on the armrest, then leaned closer and whispered to High Priest Reed:

"Has the death report for Priest Anderson been submitted?"

High Priest Reed nodded and said, "I wrote it in my spare time last night and only mailed it out this morning..."

Priest Theodore reached down and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt beneath his robes, straightened his collar, licked his thick lips, and continued, "Will the higher-ups send an investigator this time?"

"They'll definitely come. This time, they not only need to verify the cause of Priest Anderson's death, but they'll also take the four Bronze Mirror from the warehouse back to deal with them..."

High Priest Reed responded.

Priest Theodore's fat face twitched slightly. He quickly rubbed his numb face with his hand and looked out the window.

After a moment, Priest Theodore said quietly, "High Priest Reed, this was my oversight. If I had known earlier that there were such things in this warehouse, I would have purified them no matter what."

Priest Theodore saw Abbott and Jasper looking at him, his face flushed.

Then, mustering his courage, he said, "I've heard that many Priest from the southern regions of the Silver Moon Kingdom are gradually leaving, and now a large number of Priest are gathering in Gorfito. I estimate that we won't be here for much longer."

High Priest Reed remained calm upon hearing Priest Theodore's words, clearly aware of the matter.

But Roy, Jasper, and Abbott, who were in the carriage, were completely unprepared...

"High Priest Reed, are we leaving too?" Jasper, still reeling from his grief, was struck by this bad news and immediately asked High Priest Reed in a trembling voice.

High Priest Reed patted him on the shoulder and said, "We haven't received any such notification yet."

"Are the Goddess of Freedom Temple in other Elf City being dismantled?" Jasper followed up with another question.

High Priest Reed nodded slowly and said, "That is indeed the case."

Jasper said somewhat confusedly, "My God, I didn't know the Goddess of Freedom Temple in Castleton was being dismantled. Where are we supposed to go? Are we going to Gorfito too?"

High Priest Reed quickly comforted Jasper:

"Until the notice from above is delivered, we just need to stay here in peace."

Roy and Abbott, sitting next to each other, exchanged a glance. In fact, the news had also greatly impacted them.

Especially Roy.

He had just joined the temple when he heard that temples throughout the Silver Moon Kingdom were being gradually dismantled...

For Novice Priest like him, who was studying at the Elf Academy while working part-time at the temple, there was really no need for him to leave his hometown and follow the Priest to an unfamiliar place.

It's very likely that after the Goddess of Freedom Temple in Castleton City is shut down, he'll have to find a new part-time job.

When Roy looked at Abbott, it was clear that he wasn't so willing to leave Castleton City either.

Jasper probably wouldn't want to go either. He's currently on a date with Miss Tiffany Naga mermaid; why would he go somewhere without a sea? Jasper thought of Priest Anderson, and his mood plummeted again. He muttered to himself:

"The teacher has always been troubled by the loss of the Holy Grail, believing that the decrease in gatherings in the temple is due to the loss of the Wisdom Holy Grail."

High Priest Reed explained to the three Novice Priest, "If the Holy Radiance can still shine here, the lost Wisdom Holy Grail is really nothing special."

"Its only value lies in witnessing the Divine Descent rituals of several High Priest of the Castle Town Goddess of Freedom Temple. It is these Divine Descent rituals that have left a faint trace of incomplete divinity within the Holy Grail, which is why it is able to condense holy water in the Holy Water Pool."

"Almost every temple has a replica of this Wisdom Holy Grail."

The carriage stopped outside the temple gate, High Priest Reed stepped down from it, looking somewhat weary.

Priest Theodore followed behind, constantly wiping the sweat from his face with the silk handkerchief in his hand.

Roy, Jasper, Abbott walked at the back, discussing in hushed tones the matter of abolishing the Goddess of Freedom Temple...

The death of Priest Anderson was a great blow to High Priest Reed.

Although he still seemed the same as always, he would patiently explain those basic divine spells to Roy and the others...

But Roy noticed that he would sometimes stand by the well and stare blankly at the well opening, or sit alone by the pool and stare blankly at the Statue of Goddess of Freedom.

The four Bronze Mirror are still locked in the warehouse, probably waiting for the investigators sent by the temple's higher-ups to arrive before they are opened...

Priest Theodore had become much more well-behaved these past few days, staying in the temple almost every day without going out. Unfortunately, this only lasted for three days before Priest Theodore reverted to his original ways, frequently traveling to the Upper District by carriage.

Priest Theodore would go out almost every day around noon and return very late, sometimes even spending the night outside.

The temple is now more deserted than ever before...

These days have been very busy for Roy.

Although he had gradually adapted to the learning pace of the Elf Academy, High Priest Reed was much stricter than before, stuffing him with a large number of divine runes every day that he had to memorize, and wishing Roy could read the whole book in half a day.

High Priest Reed will explain to Roy how to draw and pronounce these runes, which are the foundation of all divine magic.

Roy learns a great deal of new knowledge every day, and the temple has become almost another place to absorb knowledge.

Roy, Jasper, and Abbott possessed a pocketful of magic cores, and the Magic Crystal Stone they crafted were used by the three of them in the Black Pearl's refit project.

Of course, during this time, Roy and his two companions also took the time to clean up the souls of the dead on the Black Pearl.

Currently, only the ghost in the Torture Chamber remains to be dealt with, and the silt in the Bottom Cabin of the Black Pearl has been completely cleaned up, with even some rotten wooden planks replaced with new ones.

The only part that hasn't been repaired yet is the round hole in the bottom of the boat.

Because everyone is currently used to taking this route when boarding the ship...

After all the spirits in the Oar Room on both sides were purified, the three of them began cleaning the cabins on the next level.

However, the ship was too big. They were busy every day, but they had only managed to tidy up the six separate cabins on the lower deck.

"Roy, now all that's left on the ship is that ghost in the Torture Chamber. How about we try to get rid of it?" Jasper said, sitting in a chair in the cabin.

It's a bit stuffy and hot here; you'll be covered in sweat if you just move around a little.

Roy put away the mop in his hand, looked at the floor in the hallway where the paint was almost worn off, and was also a little annoyed by this endless cleaning work. He said, "Now that we have some time, let's get started!"

Abbott was cleaning out the old seats in the Oar Room, also poked his head out and responded, "Okay!"

The three put down their cleaning tools and headed towards the Torture Chamber.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Roy cast the ' Glimmer Illumination Spell, then manipulated the ball of light to float to the front, and the three of them arrived outside the Torture Chamber.

The ghost trapped in the Torture Chamber has become extremely agitated these past few days. Whenever it senses movement at the door of the Torture Chamber, it will pounce out without hesitation...

Roy, who hadn't yet learned Purification Art, stood at the front, letting the Divine Light drift into the Torture Chamber.

The ghost that had been wandering around the Torture Chamber immediately materialized in the holy light, and the aura emanating from the Divine Light even caused a burning sensation on the ghost...

This was a ghost with only its upper body, its bones hidden under a tattered black cloak. Almost the instant it raised its bone claws, the Divine Light that had drifted into the Torture Chamber shattered with a 'bang'.

As the ghost lunged towards the door, it quickly went into stealth mode...

However, Jasper, who was following Roy, was already prepared. He had been chanting a prayer when he saw the ghost, and when the ghost was about to disappear, the divine runes of the Purification Art were drawn. The runes dissipated, and a beam of holy light instantly enveloped the ghost in a pillar of light.

Roy hurriedly grabbed the Wooden Hammer infused with holy light and rushed into the Torture Chamber, preparing to smash the ghost trapped in the beam of light a few times on its head.

As Roy raised the hammer, Roy noticed that the ghost within the pillar of light was enveloped in a pale blue vortex of magical energy. The pillar of holy light that had trapped it extinguished incredibly quickly within this blue vortex...

I have some things to do today, so there might only be one chapter tonight, and it might be a little late.